See you next Season!

PRESS BOX

Late Rally Propels Fielders Past Kansas City

07/28/2010 3:01 PM -

The Lake County Fielders (25-34) scored six unanswered runs, including three in the bottom of the eighth inning, to take game three of a four-game series against the Kansas City T-Bones (39-22), 10-8, Wednesday afternoon in Zion, IL.

Kansas City jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Garry Bakker in the first inning, plating their first two runs of the night on a double by Dwayne White.  Jim Fasano singled two batters later, extending his current hit streak to 18 games and capping off the three-run frame.  The Fielders tied the game quickly versus Ryan Knippschild in the bottom of the inning on a three-run home run by Jeff Dunbar, and gained a 4-3 advantage in the second on a sacrifice fly from Guillermo Martinez.

White drove in his third run of the contest in the third inning, leading off the frame with a solo shot to tie the game at four.  The score remained until a four-run fifth gave Kansas City an 8-4 lead and chased Bakker from the contest.  After striking out the first two hitters, Bakker surrendered a double and an RBI single to Ray Sadler before walking his final batter, Fasano.  Garrett Sherrill entered and gave up and RBI double to Brian Joynt before a two-run double from Ryan Fox finished the scoring.

Bakker was charged with seven runs on six hits over four and two-thirds innings.  Knippschild surrendered a solo home run to Brian McFall in the bottom of the fifth, and left the contest after allowing five runs on six hits over five innings.  Neither starter factored into the decision.

Casey Hodges threw a perfect sixth for the T-Bones before a two-run home run by McFall pulled Lake County within one in the seventh.  Drew Graham (2-2) took over in the eighth for Kansas City and surrendered three runs, two earned, on two hits and an error in the loss.  After an error, double, and hit batter loaded the bases with one out, Graham walked Juan Valdes to tie the game at eight.  The next batter, Amos Ramon, singled home two runs to cap the score at 10-8.

Marco Gonzalez (2-1) earned the victory after a scoreless top of the eighth inning.  The right-hander surrendered hits to each of his first two batters, but struck out two of the next three to end the threat.  Chris Homer added a scoreless ninth to earn his ninth save of the season.

The loss today snapped a stretch of seven consecutive series victories for the T-Bones, who now look to avoid their first series loss since June 24-27 when they dropped three of four in Joliet.  Andrew Cruse (8-3, 2.29) takes the mound for Kansas City tomorrow night in the series finale opposite former T-Bone Matt Schweitzer (1-2, 7.58) and the Fielders.  First pitch is set for 7:00.  Catch all the action online at www.tbonesbaseball.com or on the radio at KXTR 1660 AM.